Magnetic-attaching structure for a fan

ABSTRACT

A magnetic-attaching structure for a fan includes a fan body and a magnetic unit. The magnetic unit is mounted with the fan body, and then the magnetic-attaching structure for a fan can be easily assembled or changed so that the air-inhaling or air-exhausting directions are also changed. The fans can be assembled conveniently and quickly, and additional fans can be added as required. No fixing holes are needed for the fans, nor are screws needed to fix the fans in place. The user can assemble or add fans conveniently as suits their requirements.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a magnetic-attaching structure for afan, and in particular to a fan that can be assembled conveniently via amagnetic-attaching structure.

2. Description of Related Art

There are many kinds of circuit boards and electronic elements in acomputer housing. When the computer is operating, the temperature in thecomputer housing will rise because of the heat from the chips on thecircuit board and the electronic elements of integrated circuits. If thetemperature in the housing goes beyond the maximum limit of theelectronic elements, it will cause the electronic elements to fail andthe computer may even break down. The computer housing therefore usuallyhas heat-dissipating holes and is assembled with fans, so that the heatfrom the electronic elements during operation can be exhausted outsidethe computer housing through the heat-dissipating holes by the airconvection of the fans.

A fan structure of prior art is shown in FIG. 1. A fan body 10 a isformed with a through hole 11 a at each of its four corners,respectively. A computer housing 20 a has a plurality of fixing holes 21a corresponding to the through holes 11 a, and a plurality ofheat-dissipating holes 22 a. The fan body 10 a is assembled to thecomputer housing 20 a by screws 30 a that pass through the fixing holes21 a and the through holes 11 a. Therefore, the fan body 10 a canexhaust heat outside the computer housing 20 a through theheat-dissipating holes 22 a.

However, the conventional fan structure can only be assembled at theposition that is formed with the fixing holes 21 a. It also needs screws30 a to screw the fan to the computer housing 20 a. Moreover, theair-exhausting and air-inhaling direction of the fan cannot be changedeasily. The assembly steps of the fan are troublesome and theapplication scope is limited, meaning it cannot be assembled at otherpositions quickly and other fans cannot be added for enhancingheat-dissipating effectiveness.

Accordingly, the present invention aims to propose a magnetic-attachingstructure for a fan that solves the above-mentioned problems in theprior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic-attachingstructure for a fan, which allows for fans to be assembled moreconveniently and quickly, and also allows for more fans to be addedwhere they are needed. The present invention does not require fixingholes for the fans, nor screws, and as such the user can assemble or addfans more easily to better meet their needs.

Another object of the present invention is to provide amagnetic-attaching structure for a fan, which can change theair-inhaling direction or air-exhausting direction of the fans quicklyaccording to the user's requirements. A user can opt have the fan toinhale air or exhaust air, and the fixing manner is not limited and ismore convenient.

To achieve the first object, the present invention provides amagnetic-attaching structure for a fan, including a fan body, and amagnetic unit mounted with the fan body.

To achieve the other object, the present invention provides a mainhousing, a magnetic unit, and a fan body that is magnetically attachedto the main housing by the magnetic unit.

Further scope of the applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, itshould be understood that the detailed description and specificexamples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, aregiven by way of illustration only, since various changes andmodifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be fully understood from the followingdetailed description and preferred embodiment with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fan assembled with a computer housingof prior art;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a magnetic-attaching structurefor a fan of the first embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view of a magnetic-attachingstructure for a fan of the first embodiment assembled with a computerhousing according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view of a magnetic-attachingstructure for a fan of the first embodiment assembled with a side boardaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an assembled perspective view of a magnetic-attachingstructure for a fan of the first embodiment assembled with another sideboard according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an assembled perspective view of a magnetic-attachingstructure for a fan of the first embodiment assembled with anothercomputer housing according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a magnetic-attaching structure for a fanof the second embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an assembled perspective view of a magnetic-attachingstructure for a fan of the second embodiment assembled with a fan netaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an assembled perspective view of a magnetic-attachingstructure for a fan of the second embodiment assembled with a filteraccording to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a magnetic-attaching structure for afan of the third embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a magnetic-attaching structure for afan of the forth embodiment according to the present invention; and

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a magnetic-attaching structure for afan of the fifth embodiment according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplatedmodes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be takenin a limiting sense, and is made merely for the purpose of illustratinggeneral principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of theinvention is best defined by the appended claims.

Reference is made to FIG. 2. The present invention of amagnetic-attaching structure for a fan includes a fan body 10 and amagnetic unit 20.

The fan can be an axial-flow fan, a centrifugal fan, or a cross-flowfan. In this embodiment, the fan is an axial-flow fan. The fan body 10has a square-shaped frame 11. The frame 11 is embossed with anindicating mark 12 on its top surface for indicating the air-inhalingdirection and the fin-rotating direction. The indicating mark 12 cancoordinate with the magnetic unit 20, so that the user can easilyidentify the air-inhaling direction when assembling the fan body 10. Thefan body 10 has an exhausting side 13 and an inhaling side 14 at itsfront and rear ends, respectively. The exhausting side 13 is opposite tothe inhaling side 14. Air is taken into the fan body 10 from theinhaling side 14, and is exhausted outside the fan body 10 from theexhausting side 13. The exhausting side 13 and the inhaling side 14 ofthe frame 11 respectively form a plurality of magnet receiving parts 15at their four corners that are symmetrical related to diagonal lines.The magnet receiving parts 15 are circle-shaped and form an opening attheir front surfaces, respectively.

In this embodiment, the magnetic units 20 are circular permanentmagnets, which are embedded and received in the openings of the magnetreceiving part 15 to be fixed in the fan body 10. Because the magneticunits 20 are magnetic, the exhausting side 13 and the inhaling side 14of the fan body 10 can all be attached where required.

Reference is made to FIG. 3. The computer housing 30 is made of iron.The computer housing 30 is formed with a plurality of heat-dissipatingholes 31 at its rear end, which allows heat in the computer housing 30to be exhausted out. The exhausting side 13 of the fan body 10 isattached magnetically to the computer housing 30 around theheat-dissipating holes 31 by the magnetic units 20, and then the fanbody 10 is mounted on the computer housing 30. The heat in the computerhousing 30 can be exhausted outside through the heat-dissipating holes31 by means of the operation of the fan body 10 with cooling effect.

Reference is made to FIG. 4. The computer housing has one side board 40that is made of iron. The side board 40 is formed with a plurality ofcircular heat-dissipating holes 41, which allow air outside the sideboard 40 to be taken in. The inhaling side 14 of the fan body 10 isattached magnetically to an inside surface of the side board 40 by themagnetic units 20, and then the fan body 10 is mounted to the side board40. Air can be inhaled from the inhaling side 14 when the fan body 10 isoperating. The cool air outside the side board 40 can be taken intothrough the heat-dissipating holes 41 of the side board 40, which lowersthe temperature inside the computer housing for fulfilling the coolinggoal.

Reference is made to FIG. 5. The computer housing has another side board50 that is made of iron. The side board 50 forms a plurality ofrectangular-shaped heat-dissipating holes 51. The exhausting side 13 ofthe fan body 10 is attached magnetically to an inside surface of theside board 50 by the magnetic units 20, and then the fan body 10 ismounted to the side board 50. The heat in the side board 50 can beexhausted outside through the heat-dissipating holes 51 by means of theoperation of the fan body 10.

Reference is made to FIG. 6. A computer housing 60 is formed with aplurality of ventilating holes 61. The inhaling side 14 of the fan body10 is attached magnetically to a section of the computer housing formedwith the ventilating holes 61 by the magnetic units 20, and then the fanbody 10 is mounted with the computer housing 60. The air outside thecomputer housing 60 can be taken in the computer housing 60 through theventilating holes 61 for cooling by operation of the fan body 10.

Reference is made to FIG. 7. A fan body 70 has a rectangular-shapedframe 71 that is made of a magnet or an electromagnet. A magnetic unit80 is formed integrally with the frame 71 of the fan body 70. The frame71 is embossed with an indicating mark 72 on its top surface forindicating the air-inhaling direction and the fin-rotating direction.The fan body 70 has an exhausting side 73 and an inhaling side 74 at afront surface and rear surface, respectively. The exhausting side 73 isopposite to the inhaling side 74, and both can be attached magneticallyvia the magnetic units 80 as required by the user.

Reference is made to FIG. 8. The inhaling side 74 of the fan body 70 isfurther attached magnetically to a fan net 90, which is made of iron, bythe magnetic unit 80, and then the fan net 90 is mounted with the fanbody 70. The user therefore cannot touch the fins directly, and the netprovides a protective function. The exhausting side 73 of the fan body70 also can be attached as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6. On the other hand, thefan net 90, the exhausting side 73, and the inhaling side 74 can beattached to any other position (as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6) as deemedappropriate by the user.

Please refer to FIG. 9. The present invention can have a filter 100attached to the inhaling side 74 of the fan body 70 by the magnetic unit80. The filter 100 has an iron rim 101 and a plurality of meshes 102connected with the rim 101. The filter 100 is attached to the inhalingside 74 for preventing impurities or dust in the air from being inhaled.The exhausting side 73 can be attached to another position for cooling.

Please refer to FIG. 10. In this embodiment, the magnetic unit 20 of thepresent invention includes four magnets that are L-shaped and areembedded respectively to four corners of the fan body 10. The fan body10 is attached magnetically to the heat-dissipating holes 41 of the sideboard 40 by the magnetic unit 20.

Please refer to FIG. 11. In this embodiment, the magnetic-attachingstructure for a fan of the present invention includes a main housing30′, a magnetic unit 20, and a fan body 10.

The main housing 30′ can be a power supply, an emergency power supply, apersonal computer, an industry computer, a server, an uninterruptiblepower supply, a disk array external enclosure, an external HDDenclosure, an external disc drive, a keyboard, a notebook heat sink, ahousing of an overhead projector, or medical laboratory measuringinstruments. In this embodiment, the main housing 30′ is a personalcomputer and has a shell 31′. The shell 31′ has eight accommodatingportions 32′ adjacent to the heat-dissipating holes 311′. Each of theaccommodating portions 32′ forms an opening at it's front surface,respectively.

The magnetic unit 20 includes eight permanent magnets, which areembedded and received in the opening of the accommodating portion 32′,and the magnetic unit 20 can be mounted to the shell 31′ of the mainhousing 30′.

The frame 11 of the fan body 10 can be made of iron or embedded with atleast one iron sheet (not shown) therein, so that the fan body 10 can beattached magnetically to the main housing 30′ by the magnetic unit 20 onthe shell 31′.

Please refer to FIG. 12, the main housing 30′ has a magnetic orelectromagnetic shell 31′. A magnetic unit 80′ is formed integrally withthe shell 31′of the main housing 30′, and then the iron frame 11 of thefan body 10 can be attached magnetically to the main housing 30′ by themagnetism of the magnetic unit 80′.

As described above, the advantages of the present invention are listedas follows:

Firstly, the magnetic-attaching structure for a fan of the presentinvention is easier to assemble than conventional fans, which requiremany fixing holes and screws for attachment to the computer housing. Theuser can assemble the fan conveniently and quickly to wherever them deemheat-dissipation to be necessary, such as a housing of a power supply, ahousing of an emergency power supply, a housing of a personal computer,a housing of an industrial computer, a housing of a server, a housing ofa UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply), a housing of a disk array externalenclosure, a housing of an External HDD Enclosure, a housing of anexternal disc drive, a housing of a keyboard, a housing of a notebookheat sink, a housing of an overhead projector, or housing of medicallaboratory measuring instruments, or other housing mounted with coolingfans. The application scope is very wide, and the user can add fansfreely. The air-inhaling direction or air-exhausting direction canchanged quickly. If the exhausting side is attached magnetically to thecomputer housing, the airflow direction is exhausted from the housing.All that is required to change the direction of the airflow is attachingthe inhaling side of the fan to the computer housing. Conversely, theairflow direction can be changed from air-inhaling to air-exhausting.

While the invention has been described with reference to the preferredembodiments, the description is not intended to be construed in alimiting sense. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claimswill cover any such modifications or embodiments as may fall within thescope of the invention defined by the following claims and theirequivalents.

1. A magnetic-attaching structure for a fan, comprising: a fan body; anda magnetic unit, mounted with said fan body.
 2. The magnetic-attachingstructure for a fan as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fan body is anaxial-flow fan, a centrifugal fan, or a cross-flow fan.
 3. Themagnetic-attaching structure for a fan as claimed in claim 1, whereinsaid fan body forms at least one magnet receiving part, said magneticunit is received in said magnet receiving part.
 4. Themagnetic-attaching structure for a fan as claimed in claim 1, whereinsaid fan body forms an indicating mark corresponding to an actiondirection of said fan body.
 5. The magnetic-attaching structure for afan as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fan body has a frame made of amagnet, said magnetic unit is formed integrally with said frame of saidfan body.
 6. The magnetic-attaching structure for a fan as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said magnetic unit comprises at least one permanentmagnet.
 7. The magnetic-attaching structure for a fan as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said magnetic unit comprises at least oneelectromagnet.
 8. The magnetic-attaching structure for a fan as claimedin claim 1, further comprising a fan net made of iron, said fan netmagnetically attaches to said fan body by said magnetic unit.
 9. Themagnetic-attaching structure for a fan as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising a filter made of iron, said filter magnetically attaches tosaid fan body by said magnetic unit.
 10. The magnetic-attachingstructure for a fan as claimed in claim 1, wherein said magnetic unitcomprises at least one magnet.
 11. A magnetic-attaching structure for afan, comprising: a main housing; a magnetic unit; and a fan body,magnetically attaches to said main housing by said magnetic unit. 12.The magnetic-attaching structure for a fan as claimed in claim 11,wherein said main housing is a power supply, an emergency power supply,a personal computer, an industrial computer, a server, anUninterruptible Power Supply, a disk array external enclosure, anExternal HDD Enclosure, an external disc drive, a keyboard, a notebookheat sink, a housing of an overhead projector, or medical laboratorymeasuring instruments.
 13. The magnetic-attaching structure for a fan asclaimed in claim 11, wherein said main housing forms at least oneaccommodating portion, said magnetic units are received in saidaccommodating portion correspondingly.
 14. The magnetic-attachingstructure for a fan as claimed in claim 11, wherein said main housinghas a shell made of magnetic material, said magnetic unit is formedintegrally with said shell of said main housing.
 15. Themagnetic-attaching structure for a fan as claimed in claim 11, whereinsaid magnetic unit comprises at least one permanent magnet.
 16. Themagnetic-attaching structure for a fan as claimed in claim 11, whereinsaid magnetic unit comprises at least one electromagnet.
 17. Themagnetic-attaching structure for a fan as claimed in claim 11, whereinsaid magnetic unit comprises at least one magnet.
 18. Themagnetic-attaching structure for a fan as claimed in claim 11, whereinsaid magnetic unit is assembled with said main housing.
 19. Themagnetic-attaching structure for a fan as claimed in claim 11, whereinsaid fan body has a frame made of iron.
 20. The magnetic-attachingstructure for a fan as claimed in claim 11, wherein said fan body has aframe, said frame has at least one iron sheet mounted thereon.